Tucked behind the Great Hall on the first floor of the Jefferson Building is a vaulted hall known on the blueprints as the “East Corridor.” Docents typically call this the “Hall of the Bibles” because two of the Library’s treasures – our copy of the Gutenberg Bible on vellum and the Giant Bible of Mainz – anchor either side of the hall. The mosaic ceiling is Italian marble. While the rest of the Jefferson Building celebrates achievements and figures from around the world, this particular hall is reserved for native-born Americans who were distinguished in their respective professions.

The American artist, Herman Schladermundt, drew the designs – known as “cartoons” – for the mosaic ceilings. He is better known for the stained glass window designs in the Main Reading Room and Great Hall.

Circular ornaments in the mosaic are called “trophies” – not the kind you get after a successful season with your bowling league. Large trophies represent the three learned professions – Theology, Law, and Medicine – and the small trophies signify the arts and sciences. Each of the large trophies features two lit oil lamps, common symbols of learning. Oil lamps light the darkness of night as knowledge illuminates the darkness of ignorance.

Flanking the Law trophy are 10 surnames of Americans prominent in the field of law. (It is worth noting that the other two professions – Theology and Medicine – list only 5 names each, so the bulk of the names in this hall are related to law!) Considering that this would have been the main passageway for members of Congress to enter the Main Reading Room, it makes sense that the names of lawyers would have been directly overhead.

When the building first opened in 1897, visitors to the Library of Congress would have instantly recognized the names on the ceiling. They are the Who’s Who of 19th Century American Law (except for Hamilton, who was 18th century). Below, in order of appearance, is each man’s full name and highest office served.

To the left of the Law trophy are Justices of the U.S. or State Supreme Courts:

There will not be a test after the tour, so don’t worry about memorizing the information above, but if you do visit, consider printing the main image above as a handy-dandy cheatsheet.

What might be more interesting than knowing the facts about these men is knowing how they were connected. (Note how the figures who were opposed to each other in life are represented on opposite sides of the trophy!)

John Marshall made Joseph Story locate precedents after writing the decisions for Supreme Court cases.

Roger Taney wrote the Dred Scott decision that held that African Americans were not citizens and were not protected by the Constitution.

Benjamin Curtis was one of two justices that wrote dissenting opinions on the Dred Scott case and is the only justice ever to resign from the Supreme Court on principle. (He is the only Supreme Court justice to be featured on the “bar” side of the trophy.)

Daniel Webster argued 223 cases before the Supreme Court and was very influential in Marshall’s court.

C.C. Pinckney was John Adams’ running mate in the 1800 presidential election. Alexander Hamilton endorsed Pinckney in New England states, hoping to make him president.

Benjamin Curtis – in his capacity as an attorney in Boston – argued in the 1836 case of Commonwealth v. Aves, in which he defended a slave owner’s right to keep her slave even though she had crossed into a free state. Lemuel Shaw was the Chief Justice presiding over that case in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and ruled against Curtis’ client, establishing that a slave brought into a free state was free upon arrival.

Joseph Story counted Hamilton, Marshall, and Webster as his heroes. Story dedicated his book on the conflict of laws “To the Hon. James Kent, LL. D.”

In 1797, President John Adams appointed Marshall, Pinckney, and another man to represent the United States in France. The three refused to pay bribes to the French, igniting a scandal called the XYZ Affair. Marshall and Pinckney were kicked out of France.

Daniel Webster, in his capacity as Whig leader in the Senate, opposed President Andrew Jackson’s nomination of Roger Taney as Chief Justice after the death of John Marshall.

Daniel Webster urged Lemuel Shaw to leave a successful private practice to become Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court.

James Kent wrote in a letter to Joseph Story’s widow, “He has done more by his writing and speeches to diffuse my official and professional character (far indeed beyond my deserts) than any living man. My obligations to him are incalculable.”

John Gibson and Daniel Webster both had large head sizes and accidentally took the other’s hat after a dinner party. When they happened to pass each other on the street the next day, Webster recognized his own rather ragged hat on Gibson’s head and exchanged hats with the Justice.

Throughout the Jefferson Building are blank plaques that seem to be waiting for a name to be engraved or painted on them. For the field of law, whose name might you add to the walls?

The following is a guest post by Megan Lulofs Kuhagen, a Legal Information Analyst in the Public Services Division. Previously, Meg has posted on a variety of topics including States in the Senate, House Committee Hearings Video, the Cardiff Giant, the Canadian Library of Parliament, football blackouts, and Ask a Librarian services. I recently posted pictures from my trip to the Republic of San Marino, a […]

In flipping through the Pic of the Week posts, I noticed that we have also had a lot of photos of libraries from around the world. We do love libraries here at the Law Library of Congress! We seem to be drawn to them whether we are at home, work, on vacation, or even on […]

Institutional memory is a funny thing. It expands and contracts through generations of staff changes. Some things are passed on to the next cohort; some things are forgotten; and from time to time forgotten things resurface. Most people at the Library of Congress know, for instance, that the original library of the United States Congress […]

We often have the pleasure of working collaboratively with members of other service units throughout the Library of Congress. Today’s interview is with Dan Paterson, Preservation Specialist/Rare Book Conservator in the Preservation Directorate’s Conservation Division at the Library of Congress. We are happy to give the public a brief glimpse into his life and his path toward […]

Since I first posted about this award, three finalists have been selected for the 2012 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction: Michael Connelly’s The Fifth Witness, Robert Dugoni’s Murder One and David Ellis’ Breach of Trust. The annual Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction is given to a book-length fictional work that “best exemplifies the […]

The following is a guest post by Megan Lulofs Kuhagen, a Legal Information Analyst in the Public Services Division. Meg has previously posted on a variety of topics including States in the Senate, House Committee Hearings Video, the Cardiff Giant, the Canadian Library of Parliament, football blackouts, and librarian services. I recently visited the Republic of San Marino, a tiny, landlocked nation located entirely inside […]

Today’s interview is with Barbara Moore, Program Specialist for the Office of the Law Librarian of Congress, of whom you may have read recently in a blog post concerning the “Career Development Program Graduation.” Describe your background I am originally from Kenbridge, Virginia, a very small town about 71 miles west of Richmond. I grew […]

The Law Library of Congress was fortunate to host citizen activist Richard Dreyfuss as our speaker for this year’s Law Day program. Mr. Dreyfuss founded The Dreyfuss Initiative in 2010 with the aim of helping to ensure that today’s children learn how our government works and as adults are prepared to participate in that government. Mr. […]

The following is a guest post by James Martin, Senior Legal Information Analyst at the Law Library of Congress. The Chicago Legal News has the distinction of being the first legal publication in the United States that was edited by a woman, Myra Bradwell. In 1868, Myra submitted a prospectus for a legal newspaper for […]

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